Tax Reform Bills will boost production in Nigeria – Presidency counters Bauchi governor 

Speaking on Sunrise Daily on Channels TV on Wednesday, Daniel Bwala, the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, said the tax reform bills will encourage production.

He said “The [Bola Tinubu] government has communicated in very clear terms to the governors and stakeholders and all who care to listen that the Tax Reform bill is actually going to help your own state and not anti-your state. But the Tax Reform bill is also encouraging production. You have interrogated leaders on the need to build a production-based economy and not one that is dependent on stamps from the federal government. And that is the direction we all are looking.”

He noted further, “Instead of scapegoating and blackmailing the president, the governors should talk to their lawmakers. He [the President] has presented the bill to the National Assembly. It is the National Assembly that will do what they need to do in the process of the passage. The tax reform bill primarily benefits the common man.”. 

On December 26, during his critique of the tax reform bills, Mohammed, who also serves as the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum, alleged that the proposed reforms were biased in favor of a particular region. He described the bills as tantamount to “calls for anarchy” and cautioned that President Tinubu would witness “our real color” if the legislation were enacted.

“I cannot be threatened as a governor. I stand by my comments. They are not meant to malign, insult, or do anything to the contrary other than mean well,” he said.

“We believe that as the leader of the federation and all other federating units, they should listen to us, not act arrogantly, or show impunity as though they can proceed regardless,” he added.

He described the presidency’s stance as “undemocratic” and noted that “even those with military backgrounds have historically addressed public concerns on contentious policies”.